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Noel (Ellie) O’Soup was found dead in a residential building on Heathley Avenue and Hastings Street in downtown Eastside on May 1.
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June 24, 2022 • 55 minutes ago • 2 minutes reading • 10 comments Noel “Eli” O’Soup, 14, left his home in Port Coquitlam on May 12, 2021. Photo by Coquitlam RCMP
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Members of the First Nation in Saskatchewan, home to a missing teenager found dead in downtown Vancouver, East Side, say an inadequate police investigation is evidence of systemic racism against indigenous peoples.
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Noel “Ellie” O’Soup, 14, was identified as one of two people whose bodies were found on May 1 in a room in an apartment building on Hatley Avenue on Hastings Street, according to Vancouver police.
“Earlier this week, the VPD received confirmation from the BC Coroners Service that Noel was one of two people found on May 1,” spokeswoman Const said. Tanya Visintin in an email. “Until then, her identity was unknown, as we were awaiting identification from the BC Coroners Service.”
The cause of death was not reported, nor was the other person’s name.
“We met in private with members of Noel’s family yesterday (Thursday) and will continue to provide them with support and information as the investigation continues,” Visintin said.
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O’Soup has been missing since May 12, 2021, when she left her home in Port Coquitlam “without permission,” according to a Coquitlam RCMP statement at the time, which included a photo and asked the public for help finding her.
Police said they were known to have visited the Vancouver area frequently and may have avoided a health check.
Coquitlam RCMP, who was in charge of the missing person’s file, had also invited Chief Clinton Key of Key First Nation to be part of a task force.
Was enough done (to look for Ellie)? I will not judge, but I do not believe that the judiciary or the police are doing anything significant to change the way they treat our people, especially our women, “Ki said.
“It is very sad. This simply fits into the systemic racism we see in the way these cases are handled.
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“I am not impressed with how the (disappearance) was handled.
Newly elected key first people Solomon Reese suggested that if O’Soup was “a white upper-class girl from West Vancouver (who was missing), all the resources would be used to find her. But she was just another indigenous young man who care.
The group had published a $ 10,000 reward for information that would help police find it, and Reese said he would like the province to increase it to a more significant level of $ 100,000.
Reese and Kee call for an impartial third party to investigate how the missing person case was handled and why indigenous youths are over-represented in foster care.
Rhys, O’Soup’s second cousin, couldn’t say for sure that the young man was in care when she disappeared.
Due to privacy concerns, the Ministry of Child and Family Development could not comment on the case or even confirm that it was related to a child, youth or family, a ministry spokesman said in an email.
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